Aberdeen’s Kiltwalkers have raised £924,000 for almost 300 charities based mostly across the North East, after the event’s return to the city for the first time in three years.
Tartan-clad walkers raised £616,000 and The Hunter Foundation doubled that, giving an extra £308,000.
The money is now on its way to 285 charities across Grampian and the north.
Kiltwalk chief executive Paul Cooney said: “We’re so proud of all our Kiltwalk Heroes and the significant amount of money they’ve raised for good causes.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult time for charities since the pandemic hit, and these funds will make a real difference - so we'd like to thank Sir Tom Hunter and The Hunter Foundation for their outstanding generosity.
“The atmosphere on the day was incredible: Kiltwalkers were really happy to be back, walking together from Potarch all the way to Duthie Park for the first time since 2019.”
Over the last six years, Scotland’s biggest participation charity event has raised £33.9m for nearly 3,000 charities across Scotland.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the 26-mile Aberdeen Kiltwalk on 29 May was cancer charity Friends of ANCHOR. They posted a final total of £72,086, after its 83 walkers raised £48,057, which was topped up with an extra £24,029 by The Hunter Foundation.
Friends of ANCHOR’s donor care executive Kirsty Donaldson said: “This year, every penny raised will go towards our ‘ANCHORED Together’ appeal, which is our effort to raise £2m to support the creation of a new cancer and haematology facility in Aberdeen.
“The ANCHOR Centre will provide outpatient care for 65,000 people every year locally, so the impact of this fundraising will live on long after our walkers have recovered from their brilliant efforts.”
Children’s charity AberNecessities, which currently supports 250 children every month across the area by providing them with basic essentials, raised a final figure of £9,467 with a team of 36 walkers.
Danielle Flecher-Horn, founder of AberNecessities, said: “We are truly touched by the incredible amount of Kiltwalkers that chose to raise funds for AberNecessities this year.
“Due to the cost-of-living crisis, we have seen an immediate and sustained surge from families with pre-existing vulnerabilities as well as from those experiencing financial insecurity for the first time - this funding will change so many lives.”
A host of famous faces took part in the event, including Paralympians and champion cyclists Neil and Lora Fachie MBE. Days later the couple were named OBE in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours list for their gold medal victories in Tokyo last year. They completed the Big Stroll to raise funds for Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust.
Headline sponsors Royal Bank of Scotland and Arnold Clark were well represented and colleagues from the Aberdeen office of gold sponsor Johnston Carmichael were also out in numbers.
The next Kiltwalk will take place in Dundee on 21 August and Edinburgh on 18 September.
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